


a torchwood christmas

by blueaeons



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Bi solidarity, Found Family, Gen, Torchwood Christmas, soft, tosh and ianto are friends and you can never take that away from me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:22:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29894856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueaeons/pseuds/blueaeons
Summary: After Jack forces Ianto and Tosh to take a break from The Hub over Christmas, they decide to spend the holiday together. Although thoroughly unprepared, the day turns out better than either could have expected.
Relationships: Ianto Jones & Toshiko Sato, Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Kudos: 8





	a torchwood christmas

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! so this is my first time _technically_ posting a torchwood fic! this was for a gift exchange hosted on tumblr (hence the christmas themed fic in march) but I've forgotten p much everything about it at this point. but i felt like posting it anyway so here it is!! i hope you enjoy it :D

Ianto never really cared for Christmas, not in the way the rest of Cardiff seems to. 

As a kid, it was fun — as most things are when you’re still oblivious to the harsh truths of the real world — but as he grew into his teen years, it just became bittersweet. One day of true peace and happiness in the family, before Boxing Day came around and the illusion was shattered. 

The illusion of ‘the happiest time of year’ was never as appealing, after that. 

He would still, of course, attend Christmas lunch with Rhiannon and her family. He misses out on enough of their lives as it is, he shouldn’t skip out on Christmas too. 

But this year, they’re celebrating with her husband’s side of the family — and as much as Rhi insists he’s welcome, he knows he won’t fit in. Not where the word ‘gay’ is thrown around as an insult and your masculinity is measured by your barbeque skills and sports knowledge. Ianto would get eaten alive, regardless of his ability to blend into the background. 

Instead, he celebrated with his sister a week before Christmas and in his mind, the holiday is over. Now, he can just focus on his work, without the added distraction of Gwen and Owen’s — well-meaning, yet still annoying — bickering, who are off either celebrating with family or making the most of the paid time off. 

Yet, because nothing ever goes to plan at Torchwood, of course that wouldn’t happen. 

“What are you two still doing here?”

Ianto looks up at Jack as he exits his office. Part of him had hoped that Jack might’ve wanted to spend the holiday with him, but he had been too scared to make the offer himself. Did Jack even celebrate Christmas? Ianto doubts that Christmas — as it is today anyway — is still around in the time Jack grew up in.

“Pardon?” Tosh questions in a manner indicating she had heard him, yet didn’t understand his intention. 

“It’s Christmas Eve! Both of you, go off and take a break. I can hold the fort for the next few days.” Ianto is about to open his mouth to object when Jack shoots the pair of them a stern look. “I don’t want to hear it, you both need the time off.”

Ianto vaguely recalls Jack mentioning that he wanted Ianto to take more time for himself a few weeks ago, but he didn’t think Jack was actually going to _act_ on that. What is he even supposed to do with the time off? Usually, he would use any extra time to catch up on lost sleep, but the Rift had been blissfully quiet recently. 

Ianto can hear Tosh sigh, even from the entrance to the medbay where he was about to begin mopping the alien blood Owen had missed after cleaning up his last autopsy. 

Part of him itches to clean the blood, knowing it won’t get done with him at home, but he forces himself to walk away from the mess and back to the main floor of The Hub. 

“Fine, just let me finish this program so it can run overnight,” Tosh eventually responds. Jack grins at that, wishing them both a Merry Christmas and placing a lingering kiss on Ianto’s forehead, before retreating to his office. 

Barely fifteen minutes later, Ianto and Tosh finally walk through The Hub exit, the door rolling closed behind them. As the lift door slides open, the pair begin walking to the tourist office exit in comfortable silence, tugging their winter cloaks tighter around them to stave off the chill of the narrow passageway. Ianto knows it’ll be even colder outside, possibly even snowing. He should really get to his car before the weather gets too difficult to drive in. 

Yet, as Ianto reaches the tourist office, he finds himself reluctant to leave. Glancing over at Tosh, she seems to feel the same.

Sending him a tight-lipped grin, she ties her coat tighter around her waist. “Here’s to another Christmas alone.” 

Ianto’s heart aches at the thought of Tosh sitting alone in her apartment, forcibly isolated from her mother and family. Sure Ianto doesn’t see his family often, but at least he has the option to. He can’t imagine what it must be like, knowing your family is alive yet being unable to contact them. 

After a beat of silence, Tosh turns away from Ianto, making her way to the small push door exit of the tourist office.

“Tosh, wait.” Tosh turns, cold air blowing in through the half-opened door. “I’m not doing anything tomorrow either, if you’d like to spend the day with me?” 

Tosh smiles, giving Ianto a careful nod. “I’ll think about it.”  
  


As usual, Ianto finds himself waking at just past six in the morning and hauling himself to the shower. The sun won’t be up for another two hours, leaving his apartment in darkness — the only light coming from the flickering bathroom light and his bedside lamp. 

Flicking on the yellow-tinged ceiling light of his bedroom as he exits the bathroom, he instinctively reaches to grab a dress shirt and suit jacket, holding the hangers with a frown. 

Right. No work today. 

Pulling on a loose pair of sweatpants and a shirt that Ianto is pretty sure belongs to Jack, he unplugs his phone from the socket beside his bed — seeing a text from Jack wishing him a Merry Christmas — and wanders to the kitchen.

Pulling open the fridge, he assesses his options for breakfast. He really needs to go grocery shopping. 

  
  


Ianto flinches back from his — honestly pathetic — plate of eggs as he hears a knock at the door. For a moment, he questions who it would be. Part of him is hopeful, maybe Jack had planned to surprise him. But then again, Jack rarely knocks, preferring to let himself in. 

But then, he remembers. His offer to Tosh. 

Looking around the small apartment frantically, he scoops up the array of winter coats hanging on the back of the sofa and throws them on the coat rack, kicks the dishwasher closed and throws the takeaway containers from the counter in the already overflowing bin — before finally pulling open the front door. 

“Tosh!”

A beat. 

“Ianto?”

Ianto steps aside, letting tosh enter his small apartment. He self consciously avoids her gaze as her eyes scan across the small apartment, her Christmas red dress and matching lipstick seeming so out of place in Ianto’s scarcely decorated apartment. 

Ianto scratches the back of his head wincing at his lack of composure. “Sorry, I wasn’t sure if you were going to come. I don’t really have any decorations.” Ianto pauses, before continuing. “Or food for that matter.”

There’s a moment of silence before Tosh smiles. Ianto feels his face heat, unsure of what to say. 

The only people that have seen his apartment since he moved to Cardiff are Jack — but _anything_ is an upgrade from where Jack sleeps — and his neighbour who is kind enough to take the perishable food when Ianto knows he won’t be leaving the hub for a while. 

“Ianto, do you ever take time for yourself? You’ve been in Cardiff for over a year now and there’s still an unpacked box in the corner.”

“I- of course, just-”

Tosh cuts off his stammering, placing her small bag down on the counter. “Come on, we’re going shopping. We can cook ourselves a Christmas lunch.”

Ianto smiles slightly. “I should probably get changed.”

Tosh grins, ushering him towards the bedroom. “Take all the time you need.”

Ianto pauses as the door closes gently behind him. He knows Tosh isn’t necessarily _wrong_. Sure Ianto puts more effort into Torchwood than he does his personal life, but arguably Torchwood is much more interesting than his personal life anyway. 

Not that he really has a personal life. 

The closest thing, he supposes, he has to a personal life is whatever is happening between him and Jack. The late nights at The Hub, whatever passes as a date in Jack’s strange mind (which usually involves an alien creature or running from half of the Cardiff police force). Maybe he does need to get out more. 

Not that Tosh is much better, he supposes. For a while, after Jack had left, Ianto was sure Owen and Tosh were finally going to sort themselves out. Clearly, he was wrong. Sometimes he wants to shake the doctor, try to make him realise what he’s missing out on. 

Pulling on a clean pair of jeans and a nice dress shirt, Ianto meets Tosh back in his living room. She looks up from the two photos he has in his flat — one of him and his sister, and a second one with the team. 

“You’re always so put together, I wasn’t expecting-”

“My flat to be a disaster?” Ianto grins sheepishly. “The important things are organised, but with the late hours-”

“Cleaning isn’t exactly a top priority when you actually have time off,” Tosh laughs knowingly, scooping her bag up from the sofa. “You should see my place, it’s much worse than this.”

Ianto scoffs, grabbing his coat from the coat rack he had previously heaped it on. “Now that I can’t believe.”

  
  


In the end, the grocery store that Ianto usually shops at turned out to be closed, and the one they tried after that. 

Eventually, they find a Tesco’s, which they quickly hurry into — escaping the cold winter wind. 

“When was the last time you cooked a full meal for yourself,” Tosh asks as Ianto grabs a basket from the stack near the entrance. 

Ianto frowns, turning to face Tosh. It’s not something he’s ever thought of, not really. He ate most of his meals at The Hub, always finding it easier to remember _he_ had to eat when he was in charge of making sure everyone else was eating too. “Pardon?”

“When did you last have a home-cooked meal?”

The closest thing, Ianto realises, is the afternoon tea he had at his sisters the week before. Not that Tosh even knows he _has_ a sister. 

“Not sure,” Ianto shrugs, placing a few onions in their small basket. “Never seemed important.”

“I can’t remember either.” Tosh shrugs. “I guess Torchwood doesn’t really allow time for anything but takeout.” Ianto doesn’t miss the way Tosh looks at him, a small grin showing she knows exactly what she’s saying. 

“You saw the takeout containers, didn’t you,” Ianto laughs, shaking his head as Tosh places some pre-cooked prawns in the basket.

“It’s no worse than my place, don’t worry,” Tosh faux-whispers, laughing as they turn down the freezer aisle. 

Ianto hasn’t spent much time with Tosh outside of work, not since Jack returned. He knows that’s on him, but he has missed their easy conversation and company. Their conversations about Jack and Owen brought so much clarity to what he had been feeling — both about his sexuality and his strange relationship with Jack. 

_‘It’s a big step up from realising you’re not straight to shagging an immortal man born centuries in the future,’_ Tosh had said. Ianto is pretty sure he had responded with something along the same lines, considering Tosh’s romance with Mary. 

“Amber pudding?” Tosh asks, bringing Ianto back to the present as she motions towards a frozen pie crust. 

“Oh, _Definitely._ ”

  
  


After hours in the kitchen, the pair sit surrounded with more food they could ever hope to eat. They both wear matching paper crowns atop their heads and bad puns printed on cheap card litter the floor under the table. 

Ianto has a plate full of food — not necessarily what he would call Christmas food, but food none-the-less — and a smile on his face. Tosh is grinning just as widely, gesticulating with a steak knife in hand as she tells a story about Owen, long before Ianto had joined the team. 

“What is Owen doing today, anyway?” Ianto questions after swallowing a mouthful of ham his father would’ve called inedible. 

“He never mentioned anything to me. Probably just at home.” Tosh looks down at her meal, suddenly very invested in slicing a broccolini in half. “He doesn’t have any family aside from his mother, none on file anyway.” Ianto doesn’t miss the way Tosh glances at her phone. He doubts Owen has texted her today. 

“I guess Torchwood and family don't exactly mix. Torchwood and anything remotely personal don’t mix, for that matter.”

Tosh hums, leaning backwards. “You manage it, from what I’ve seen.”

Ianto scoffs, motioning around his apartment. “Does this look like managing?”

“I mean with Jack.”

Ianto pauses. Sure he _cares_ about Jack, more than he’s willing to admit. But family, or even just considering what he had with Jack _personal_ , something outside of Torchwood? The thought scared him.

But, he supposes, there are pieces of Jack all through his apartment. In the collection of spare socks in his underwear drawer since he hates walking on the cool floorboards in the morning, in the jar on the counter holding bags of his favourite tea for when it’s too late for coffee, in the book on the coffee table Jack was in the midst of reading last time he had stayed over.

“That’s different, he is Torchwood, far more than you or I.”

“But you still find time, Ianto, that’s what matters. I was expecting him to spend Christmas with you, to be honest.”

Ianto snorts. “I highly doubt Christmas is his kind of thing. Just like it’s not mine either.” Part of him hopes that if Christmas _had_ been important to him, Jack would’ve been here. Instead, he took one for all of the team, working so they could take the time they needed. 

“Oh come on, what’s so bad about Christmas!”

“It’s just so… commercialised.”

“You are so cynical, Ianto Jones.”

Ianto smiles, tilting his hat at her. “It’s gotten me this far, why give up now?”

Tosh simply rolls her eyes, grinning at him widely before continuing her meal. 

It might not have been the Christmas he had planned, or the Christmas he had hoped for, but it had been perfect. 

Torchwood had taken so much from him over the years, but it was all worth it, he supposes. Worth it for the friendships it had given him in return. 

**Author's Note:**

> if anyone is interested, me and a small group of people are currently doing a torchwood rewatch on discord! we're already two episodes in but people are welcome to join us, or even just welcome to join the server and ramble with me about torchwood :D 
> 
> feel free to join us [here!](https://discord.gg/wbxxMPGWN3)


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